Turbulence and Trouble
by BettyHT
Summary: There is more trouble for Adam and Rosalie as they care for their son and watch him grow, but a man from her past returns causing some problems until his death causes the biggest turbulence of all.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Joe, she's a right beautiful woman. I guess I didn't appreciate it before, but now that she's a mama as well as a wife, she seems to have blossomed."

"Yeah, and in all the right places. Hoss, will Joelle be upset that you were staring at her so much?"

Cringing at the conversation Rosalie was overhearing, she wished it could be her they were describing but knew it was Margarita who with her husband Don Luis had stopped in for a visit. Ben had invited them to stay for a couple of days. Rosalie had been surprised that Margarita seemed to be at odds with her husband on numerous occasions even as he doted on her. However Margarita gave many compliments to the men on the Ponderosa being especially lavish in those she gave to Adam as well as giving him more attention than any other man on the ranch including Don Luis.

As Rosalie listened, she also knew that Adam was upset with her. William had been born six weeks earlier, and Rosalie was feeling closed in with the baby nearly always with her. She longed for a moment of fresh air and sunshine without the demands of the infant. Adam had gone over to the main house so Rosalie had dressed in her pants tugging them closed by lying back on the bed and sucking in her stomach until she was able to close the buttons. Adam preferred her in skirts and dresses, but she wanted to go work with one of the horses and found the pants more practical. It was probably also a challenge and a victory to get into them after carrying the extra weight because of the pregnancy. She hoped to regain her figure and getting into her pants even if they were very tight was a way to show that she was on the way back. Minnie agreed to watch over William to be sure that he was safe and snug in his bed until she returned. However as she worked with one of the horses, she heard a carriage and riders arrive. Wondering whom it could be, she walked out of the stable practice ring to find Adam had brought Don Luis and Margarita to their home apparently to show the new stable to them. Adam's eyes had gotten very big as he saw her dressed in pants and then he had frowned even as he plastered a smile on his face for his guests.

That morning, Adam had shaved carefully, dressed in a crisp white shirt and black vest, and his black striped trousers instead of his usual black work pants. Rosalie had assumed he had done it to impress Margarita when he went to the main house. She had been surly at breakfast because of how insecure she was feeling, and now to see Adam clearly disapproving of her attire as he brought guests to their home, she was more hurt than angry. She had excused herself as soon as she could and gone to the house to change. By the time that Margarita and Don Luis were ready to leave, she was back dressed in her usual clothing that she regretted as soon as she stood by the other three to say goodbye. She felt shabby and unfit to be in their company as she compared her attire to the very expensive riding skirt with coordinated jacket, hat, belt, and boots worn by Margarita. Even her blouse was the perfect color to match the deep burgundy of the jacket and skirt. As they drove away, Adam had stood beside her and inquired softly about what was wrong.

"Nothing is wrong. I wanted to work with the horses so I dressed to do it. I never expected you to show up with your entourage. You could have told me that you were bringing them back here."

"I'm sorry, but I didn't think it was going to be a problem. It's my home too, and I still don't know what upset you."

"I'm not upset. I was surprised. Now I need to go to see to William."

Watching his wife stalk to the house, Adam sighed deeply. He had been very concerned about Rosalie ever since William was born because within a day or two, she had been prone to tears at every little thing that happened. Doctor Martin had said that some depression after giving birth was fairly common and to be supportive and patient. He had been as helpful as he could even as he juggled his workload and spent many nights working on plans and ledgers after Rosalie had gone to bed. He didn't know that she cried those nights thinking that somehow he was trying to avoid her. He never realized her pillow was wet with tears that would be dry by the next morning when dawn lit their bedroom with rosy shades. That tearful phase had seemed to pass only to be replaced by this resentment. Anytime he left the house, he returned to a somewhat angry wife who seemed to blame him for her confinement to the house.

"I'm sorry, but you need to recover from giving birth, and I can't nurse William. I have to go outside to do my work. I've avoided any overnight trips so that I can be here with you. I don't know what else I can do."

With no answer for that, Rosalie had simply turned away. Adam had decided at that point to go talk with Clarence to see if he had any insight about his daughter. It had been helpful but not enough.

"Her ma was like that every time she had one of ours. She snapped at me for every little thing and cried over every little thing too. Took her a couple of weeks to come out of it, and then she was real sorry for how she treated me."

"It's been several weeks since William was born, and I don't see her coming out of it. She cried quite a bit at first, but now she seems angry with me. I can't seem to find a way to make her happy."

"Well, Adam, I don't know then. She was always more feisty than her ma so maybe that's why it's taking so long." Clarence had shrugged because he didn't know what else to say. He sympathized with Adam over Rosalie's behavior but had no advice to give.

However Adam suspected that there was more to it than the usual postpartum depression and emotionalism. He worried that her time with Blankenship had altered her irrevocably. He hoped that was not true, and he planned to be there for her no matter what, but it worried him especially because of William. He was so relieved that they had Minnie Miller in the house as a housekeeper and cook. It meant there was always someone there to help out. He went to town to visit with Doctor Martin again only a few days before Don Luis and Margarita arrived for their visit.

"Adam, I think you could be right that her time in captivity may be a factor now. I don't think that it changed her so much as it affected her emotionally. She's a lot like you in some regards. I think she didn't deal with her feelings about what happened but pushed them away thinking that was all that she had to do. She's got a lot of anger and probably some fears stowed away inside and it needs to come out. I'm sorry that she's doing it this way, but eventually, you'll see that it did some good."

"How will I know it's out?"

"The two of you are going to have some arguments. She will explode at you, and instead of being patient and supportive; you're going to shoot back. When that happens, be prepared for an emotional outburst like you have never seen before from her."

"So I've been doing it all wrong?"

"No, not at all. She needed to be treated just the way you treated her. That was the recovery from carrying William and worrying about who his father was. No, the explosion will be the anger and possibly the fears that she's carried from those months at the hands of that madman."

"How will I know when to 'shoot back' as you call it?"

"It likely won't be a conscious decision. Rosalie will push and push until you decide to push back. I know you would never hurt her intentionally so this has to be spontaneous. I only told you this so that you're not wracked with guilt afterwards. It's something that has to happen just like thunderstorms help wash out the debris from the rivers and streams. You need that kind of storm for her to wash out those things that she's been holding back."

After thinking back to all that he had learned, Adam wondered if it was getting close to the time when Rosalie would have that outburst. He walked to the house to tell her that they had been invited to the main house to have dinner with his family and their guests. Margarita and Don Luis were leaving the next day. Adam looked forward to that because he had been neglecting even more work to spend time with their guests as his father had asked him to do. He realized that agreeing to do that had probably been a mistake, but there had been work that Hoss and Joe had to do so it had been reasonable for their father to think that Adam could take over some of the hosting duties for their guests.

When Adam, Rosalie, William, and Minnie had arrived at the main house, Rosalie had been almost immediately pushed into a foul mood. Margarita was wearing a stunning gown that made Rosalie's look shabby by comparison or so Rosalie thought. Then when Margarita had asked to hold William, Rosalie had warned her that he seldom enjoyed being held by a stranger only to watch as William cooed in Margarita's arms and even smiled at her. That had caused Rosalie to slip out of the house to try to get back her emotional control only to overhear her two brothers-in-law talking in the stable about how beautiful Margarita was. She stepped to the shadows at the side of the stable and began to cry. Adam had stepped out on the porch to watch her disappear around the side of the stable. He waited until Hoss and Joe got back from taking care of his carriage horses before heading toward where he had seen Rosalie go.

"What's wrong? Why did you leave the house?"

"Why do you care? Everything you want is in that house?"

About to retort sharply, Adam remembered Paul's words. There was going to be a storm between them and he suspected it would be with lots of thunder and lightning. "I'm taking you home. We need to talk. Wait for me right here and don't even think about arguing about that or I'll pick you up and carry you to our home." Adam walked to the house and asked Hoss if he would please give Minnie and William a ride back to his house after dinner. He said quick goodbyes to everyone explaining that Rosalie wasn't feeling well and that he was taking her home. He walked outside to find a very contrite Rosalie.

"You don't have to take me home. I'll behave."

"No, it's time we had this out. Now, we'll do that when we get back. No one has to 'behave' but there will be some brutal honesty if I have my way. I need to think about what I'm going to say so there won't be any conversation on the way back. Is that clear?" Adam had spoken forcefully because he was so worried but also because it had to be done.

Worried about what Adam was thinking, Rosalie simply nodded and did her best to stop the tears from falling. She suspected there were going to be a lot more tears later. As Adam helped her into their carriage after hitching up the team that had only been unhitched less than a half hour earlier, there were eyes watching them. The same pair of eyes had been watching them for weeks. Tom Weller had been hired on the Ponderosa and had worked on the Morton ranch before heading to the gold fields to try to become rich. Rosalie's youngest brother, Cam, had explained it all to Joe who had told his family the man's background, as he understood it based on what Cam had said.

"Tom Weller worked for us and he was my friend, but as I got older and had a better idea of what kind of man he was, I spent less and less time with him. He works hard and does what he's told, but there's something about him that makes you want to take a bath after you spend time with him. He wanted to court Rosalie but Pa said no. Tom said it was because he had no money, so he went away to try to strike it rich. We were relieved to see him go because Pa didn't have a good reason to fire him, but wanted to. Getting rich by finding gold didn't work. Now he's back, and I've got to wonder what he's planning to do."

"If he didn't do anything wrong, why were you all so happy to see him go?"

"It seemed that he was always kinda sneaking round. You'd be having a talk with someone, and there he'd be. He always wanted to be in on everything even when it wasn't any of his concern. He made us all a bit nervous. People who gave him trouble seemed to have bad luck with lame horses, barn fires, and things like that. We never saw any evidence that Tom was involved, but it was too much to be coincidence every time. He always had an alibi, and with no evidence against him, no one could really say he did anything wrong, but the worry was always there."

"We can watch to make sure he doesn't do anything like that."

"Joe, there's something else. Something happened between him and Rosalie. She never wanted to talk about it, but just mentioning his name kinda made her shiver and wrap her arms around herself. I don't know what it was, but you make sure he doesn't go anywhere near my sister."

Readily agreeing to protect Rosalie, Joe had ridden home from the Morton ranch and told his father and brothers what Cam had said. They informed Candy and all of them kept an eye on Tom but found nothing even remotely like what Cam had described. After a short time, they forgot that they had been warned about him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"All Margarita can do is praise you, touch you on the arm, and spend as much time with you as she could."

"That bothered you? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why? So you could compare me to her and find me lacking?"

Adam had to hold back at that point. His temper was dangerously close to exploding and he was doing his best not to let that happen. He had pushed Rosalie to be completely honest reminding her that they had made a pact to do that. Now he had to be honest too but struggled to keep his manner reasonable. "No, I would never do that."

"I saw how you reacted to her when they were at the stable earlier. Then when we were dressing to go to dinner, you tried to be romantic with me. I couldn't bear it knowing I was standing in for the one you desired."

That was more than Adam could take. He did explode. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing? It was you I desired when we were at the stable. In those pants and shirt, all of you was packaged showing everything so clearly. You filled out those pants showing every curve and your breasts pushed against your shirt outlining themselves very clearly. If we didn't have guests, I would have wanted to take you right there in the stable. It's been six weeks of abstinence since William was born. I've been going nearly crazy trying to keep myself from taking you to bed at every opportunity."

Rosalie nearly shouted her response. "But at night, I go to bed alone while you work downstairs." Suddenly Rosalie understood why Adam might want to busy himself with work while she undressed, nursed William, and then slipped into the bed after placing him in his cradle. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't understand, but why did you look angry with me at the stable."

"Because another man got to stare at my wife's attributes, and in that outfit, there wasn't much left to the imagination. Those pants were very tight as was the shirt especially with no feminine undergarments to soften the outlines."

"But how is that different than all the attention you get from Margarita?"

"She is only being grateful. She has no designs on me. She was a guest with us once before and I tamed some of her shrewishness, and then showed her how to be a woman of fire without the nastiness. It's why Don Luis married her. She only wanted to show me how happy she was with what I had done for her and how much she appreciates that I helped her. She's happy being a wife and a mother. But Don Luis was looking at you as any man would seeing you like that. I don't want to think about another man having images of my wife in his mind like that."

"But I don't feel attractive. I don't know how you can stand being with me after everything. I'm fat, and I'm, I'm, oh, I'm." Rosalie burst into tears and Adam suspected that he knew why.

"You are beautiful. I love you. I have never loved anyone like I love you. I never will. You are in my heart and in my soul. You are the mother of my child, the love of my life, and my best friend and my partner."

Wrapping his arms around his sobbing wife, Adam wondered if things were going well or badly. He had not expected Rosalie to burst into tears when he had told her he loved her and how important she was to him. He waited until the sobbing diminished to sniffles. He felt that his shirt was wet with tears and reached for the clean handkerchief in his pocket to gently wipe her tears once he could get her to turn her face toward him even if it was only a little. He kept one arm around her to hold her to him as he spoke softly.

"I don't know why you cried so hard."

Tears began to fall again. "It's that you were so sweet, and I've been such a bitch. I haven't been all those wonderful things you said. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"You are all those wonderful things. You have had a very difficult year or so. We lost Robert. You suffered terribly until I could rescue you in Australia. Then you carried a child not knowing if I was the father. You gave birth to our son. Anyone could be expected to have some problems with so much to bear. You held up wonderfully, but sooner or later, you had to let it all out. I expected something like this but I thought you would be more angry than so sad."

"Sometimes I am angry. I want to scream and kick things. Then that makes me feel worse for being so out of control and it makes me cry again."

"Sweetheart, we're going to get through this now. We're together and that's all that matters. We're a family, we have a wonderful home, and there are so many good months and years ahead of us. Let's try to look forward and not back as much as we can."

There was the sound of a carriage outside at that point, and Adam pushed aside the curtains to see that his carriage was back but Hoss wasn't driving it. A young man helped Minnie from the carriage and then carefully handed William to her. He took her elbow and helped her up the steps to the house being concerned that she not trip in the dark. Adam had not yet lit a lantern because he hadn't expected them back so soon. As he opened the front door, Minnie smiled a little to greet Adam a bit sheepishly. She knew that Adam had wanted time alone with Rosalie and that was being cut short.

"Young master William will not be soothed. He wants his mother, I'm afraid, and the rest of us were poor substitutes in his opinion. He's got his father's spirit according to Mr. Cartwright."

"Pa would say that. Here, I'll take him."

Minnie could see that Rosalie had been crying. She looked at Adam who shook his head only enough to let her know not to say anything about her red eyes and puffy face. She turned to thank the young man who had driven her and the baby back to the house but he had stepped inside the doorway right behind her and introduced himself as soon as Adam turned in his direction.

"Hello, Adam. I don't think we've ever been introduced. I'm Tom Weller. Hoss said that his son was creating some kind of problem and I volunteered to drive Mrs. Miller over here once I got the carriage all hitched up. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. Thank you for helping out. Go slow on the way back. I wouldn't want you to get hurt. I have a lantern I can light for you if that will help. I have to go put my carriage horses in the stable anyway."

After handing William off to Rosalie, Adam walked outside with Tom pulling the door closed behind him without seeing that Rosalie had turned nearly white with shock. Tom had stared at her and when no one noticed, he winked. She didn't know what he meant by that but feared that he meant it as a threat of some kind because he looked at Adam and smirked when Adam was talking with Minnie. She knew she would have to talk with Adam about Tom. She didn't want to have that conversation but knew she had to tell him because she believed that Tom was a threat to her and to him. She hoped that William was not in any danger but couldn't be sure. Minnie stood by Rosalie's side after Adam handed William off to her. Minnie was deeply concerned not only about the state Rosalie was in after being with Adam, but Minnie had seen the frightened look she got when she saw Tom who had seemed like such a nice young man as he drove the carriage.

"I don't know what you and Adam, ah, discussed before I got back, but I can tell you have something more to say to him. Don't delay. Anything that makes you turn white as a ghost and nearly start shaking is something that can't wait."

"Minnie, you're right. I can't tell you until I tell Adam, but I can tell you this. Do not go anywhere with that man again, and don't let him near William. I didn't know he was working on the Ponderosa. I can't believe that no one told me."

"Well, now, let's get you and William upstairs. You can nurse him and put him in his cradle by the time Adam gets back here."

Almost reluctantly, Rosalie did as Minnie suggested, but her thoughts were on what Tom might be planning, and she worried about Adam being with him without knowing what he was capable of doing. She suspected that she did and knew she would worry until Adam walked back in that door.

Outside, Tom Weller had noticed the ax leaning against the woodpile and the long sledgehammer next to an anvil by the stable. He knew that either one would work well to split Adam Cartwright's head open like a melon. But he did nothing because those methods however emotionally satisfying they might be to him would get him the noose. No, he was trying to think of something much more subtle to remove the man he saw as his rival. He looked around thinking that he wouldn't mind living in this house and having his own stable as well as a cook and housekeeper. He guessed that once Adam was gone, he could woo Rosalie and the Cartwrights would be so grateful to have a man willing to be a father to William that they would welcome him into the fold. Those thoughts made him smile, but he noticed that Adam had seen him smiling. He needed a cover story and fast.

"You sure have a nice little boy there. He cooed and smiled as we drove back. It was like he knew I was bringing him home to his mama. I sure look forward to the day when I can have a pretty wife and handsome son like that."

Adam smiled and thanked him for the implied compliment but felt that there was something off about the way he said it. He began to understand why Cam had said that Tom made people feel uneasy by the way he said things. He bid the young man good night and went into the stable but watched from the dark gateway to see him climb into the carriage and stare up at the lighted bedroom window before he drove off. Adam decided that he was going to be doing some checking on Tom Weller and certainly did not want him driving members of his household. He wondered exactly how he was going to explain that to his family because he had no concrete evidence that Tom was a problem in any way. Hoss always said that one should trust their gut, and his gut was telling him that Tom was a problem about to become their problem. Once he got inside though, it was Rosalie who broached that subject almost immediately.

"Adam, why didn't you tell me that Tom Weller was working on the ranch? How could you not tell me?"

Keeping his concerns private for the moment, Adam spoke calmly because he knew how emotionally on edge Rosalie was. He didn't want to unnecessarily upset her. "Cam said he might seek revenge against someone he thought had wronged him. He warned us to watch him, but he's done nothing wrong. Now, why does he worry you so much? I know Cam said he had wanted to be a suitor for your hand, but he said your father forbid it."

Once Rosalie started explaining, she found that the words rushed out. She had been frightened to tell anyone when she was younger and had held the secret for too long, but with Adam at her side and after the things she had already survived, her courage was stronger. "It's much more complicated than that. He came to me to tell me that he was going to court me. I was flattered and actually considered accepting that, but after he spoke to my father, he was furious. He told me that the only reason my father didn't accept him as a suitor for me was because he didn't have money. He said he was leaving to strike it rich and that he would be back for me when that happened." Because Adam looked like he wanted to say something, Rosalie raised her hand to stop him. She needed to get all of it out before she thought about it too much and lost her resolve. "He told me that I was his, and he said that I better wait for him because if I gave myself to another man, he would turn my bull into a steer before he killed him. He pushed me back into a stall of the stable and said he wanted a kiss before he left. He did more than that. I was wearing pants and a shirt. He touched me in places that no man should touch a woman who is not his wife. I managed to push him away before anything else happened. He laughed and said he liked me fighting back a little because it showed I had spirit. He said he would break me just like we broke horses, and then he said some very crude things and laughed when it made me upset. I told him he was crazy. He got furious then and said that if I ever said that to him again, he would cut out my tongue. But, Adam, he is crazy."

"Why didn't you ever tell this to your family?"

"He left, and I didn't want to make trouble. Then when he didn't come back, I thought it didn't matter, but he's back now, and I'm scared."

"I'll talk with my family. We'll let him go."

"But, Adam, that won't help. He'll be even more angry, and we won't know where he is."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

That night as Adam slid into bed, he gave Rosalie a soft kiss and then lay on his back to sleep. He would have preferred wrapping his arms around his wife and pulling her toward him but then she would know that he had much more on his mind than comforting her. He thought she needed to sleep so he kept his distance not knowing that Rosalie was awake for hours with a troubled mind. She had hoped that Adam would make a romantic overture to her so that she could lose herself in passion and pleasure for a time and forget about any unpleasant thoughts. Instead, Adam had fallen asleep rather quickly. Once she finally fell into a deep sleep, those terrible thoughts swirled through her dreams to coalesce into a nightmare. Her movements awakened Adam who heard William mewling softly in his cradle. Knowing that those soft sounds would soon be replaced by a sharp howl as William came fully awake and realized his discomfort from being wet and being hungry. Adam slid from the bed, turned a lamp up enough so that he could see what he was doing, and lifted William from his cradle.

As expected, William needed a change but Adam felt his cradle and was relieved that at least this time he had not wet his bedding. That was a warning though that there was more to come so he held a clean diaper over his infant son as he removed the sodden diaper. It was a precaution he had learned from Mrs. Miller and found it very helpful. As expected, the cool air made William release the rest of it. Adam dropped both wet diapers into the pail of soapy water that was there for that purpose. He wrapped his son in a thick soft clean diaper and then pulled a clean gown over him. He lifted William into his arms then and spent a few moments softly brushing his son's cheeks with kisses. William cooed and reached for the lock of hair hanging down on Adam's forehead. He missed so Adam gave him another few tries until he was able to grab it and pull. They played that game for another minute until William began to fuss. He was hungry and could only be distracted a short time before that urge became too strong. Adam moved closer to the bed and softly called Rosalie's name to wake her. He didn't want to startle her, but when she did not respond to his call, he sat on the side of the bed and touched her shoulder as he said her name again. Rosalie came up punching. Adam turned his back to her to protect William and she pounded his back with blows before she fully awakened and realized where she was.

"Oh, my Lord, Adam, I'm sorry. I guess I was having a nightmare. Oh, my, I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, of course not." Adam knew he was likely to have some bruises in the morning, but at least William was safe. He did his best to reassure Rosalie that he was fine, and then asked if she was ready to nurse their son. She was embarrassed by her nightmare-induced violence and quietly accepted William after opening her gown for him to suckle. She continued to look down at the infant not wanting to meet Adam's eyes.

"Sweetheart, it was a nightmare. I understand. You don't have to feel so badly about it." He reached out his hand, and with his index finger under her chin, he raised her face to look directly at him. "I love you. I know you love me. There's no need to be so embarrassed about a nightmare. There are any number of reasons why that happened, but I suspect I know the main one. I'll talk to my family tomorrow to see if we can come up with a solution."

"Thank you. I am so sorry about hitting you."

"I know it was the nightmare. If it wasn't, you would have to find a way to make it up to me." Adam grinned then and moved his eyebrows up and down making her laugh.

"I had thought you might make that suggestion earlier."

"I thought you needed to rest."

"I'm rested now." Then it was Adam's turn to chuckle. "Let me finish with William and then I need to use the water closet. After that, I'm all yours."

A short time later, Rosalie emerged from the small water closet in their bedroom and had to smile as she watched Adam who was rocking William. He had put a diaper across his chest so that his chest hair didn't tickle William. That usually led to a fun time between father and son, but at the moment, Adam was hoping to get William to fall soundly asleep instead. Seeing Rosalie emerge, Adam stood and gently laid William in his cradle pausing a short time resting his hand on his son's back reassuring him that his father was still there. As William settled down and began to breathe softly as he slipped into a deep sleep, Adam stood looking down at him for a moment before turning to his wife and slipping into the bed beside her.

"I'm glad you didn't cover up your chest hair for me. I like how it tickles me all over, but it's been so long, I can hardly remember the feeling."

"Well, then, sweetheart, let me remind you how it's done."

Soon, Rosalie was giggling and afraid of waking William until Adam did a few other things, and then she couldn't think at all as she gave herself over to pleasure and passion. As Adam slumped against her side later with one leg still draped over hers, she smiled wrapping one arm around his neck and the other over his arm letting her hand rest lightly on his back as she held him close to her. She felt as safe and loved as she could feel and began lightly caressing his back even as the fingers on her other hand played with the damp curls at the back of his head. Her hand caressed his arm then as she turned toward him and began kissing his cheek and neck.

"You keep that up and we won't be getting much sleep tonight."

"Sleep is highly overrated, don't you think?"

The only answer Adam could give to that was to move up to kiss her face moving across her cheek and down her neck kissing softly and making her body come alive with pleasurable sensations all over again. She put a hand on his shoulder then pushing him onto his back so that she could kiss and touch him as he had kissed and touched her earlier. It was an hour later before they exhausted couple curled into a spoon position and fell soundly asleep. William awoke them several hours later demanding attention. Rosalie slid up to the headboard positioning pillows so that she could rest as she nursed their son. Adam put a dry diaper on William but didn't replace the gown knowing that Rosalie would bathe him as soon as she was finished nursing him. As Adam turned away to dress, Rosalie gasped. With the brighter light of morning, she could see the deep purple bruises that had formed on Adam's back.

"Oh, Adam, I am so sorry I hit you. You're going to be sore today."

"It's not so bad. I'll think about the other things you did last night to keep my mind off of it. Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I'm going to grab some breakfast and head on over to talk with my family. We'll work out a solution."

"What about your trip to the lumber mill this week? I know you've been putting it off for me, but I also know you need to go there this week."

"I'll ask if Joe can stay here with you and William at night. It shouldn't be a problem for him, and he can get to know his other nephew better."

"It will make me feel better too having him in the house."

"I'll be back for lunch if I can. We'll talk more, and I should have more ideas from my family. You stay in the house, please, and make sure that you keep that pistol handy."

"I thought you said he hadn't done anything wrong?"

"He hasn't yet, but I don't trust him especially after what you told me about him. If he sees that I'm at the house with Pa and my brothers, I wouldn't put it past him to come over here. He's odd, and that makes him unpredictable. Now, you tell Minnie all about him while I'm gone. She needs to know too what kind of man we're facing. Don't even think of working with the horses unless I'm here or Joe to make sure you're safe."

With that warning, Adam left the house to ride to the main house to talk with his father and brothers. He explained what he had learned from Rosalie and talked about how and why Tom made him uncomfortable. Ben understood Adam's need to protect his family but worried about treating the young man unfairly.

"Adam, perhaps we can find duties for him that take him well away from your home and your wife and son. Would that be acceptable?"

Although not inclined to like that proposal, Adam had no specific complaint he could make. His father and brothers wondered if perhaps Tom's threat from years ago was the bravado of a very young man.

Hoss had been the one to work most often with Tom and had found him easy-going and a hard-worker. "Adam, now we wouldn't want to hold Joe here to things he said when he was eighteen. Maybe this feller has growed up some and doesn't think like that at all no more. I mean, when you say he looked up at the bedroom window, it seems to me that ain't all that surprising at night in a strange place. He volunteered to take Minnie and your son back home when I said I needed to stay here. He was doing me a favor. That don't seem like the kind of thing a man would do ifn he meant harm to our family."

"Hoss, it's not 'our' family that may be in danger. It's my family, my wife and my son, who could be in danger. I don't like the idea of keeping him on, but Rosalie said about the same thing even if she had different reasons."

"Son, what did Rosalie want?"

"She said we had to keep him on now so that we could watch him and know where he was at all times. We're going to be worried though regardless of where he is after what Cam said and now what Rosalie told me. I should have been more suspicious of him from the start. I want to check into his background too and find out why he came back here. He might have caused trouble elsewhere. If he has, we should know about it."

"That seems reasonable. You'll take care of that?"

"Yes, Pa, I would be happy to do that and as soon as I find the time to go to town, I'll send some wires to see what I can find out about him. Joe, I have a special favor to ask of you. When I'm gone, will you stay at my house in the evenings until morning?"

"Anytime you need me to stay at your place, I will. I would be happy to help you out like that, and you know I'll protect Rosalie and William with everything I've got."

"Thank you, Joe. I'm going up to the lumber mill tomorrow for three days, and it might even take me four or five days because I haven't been up there in almost two months. I'll need your help then. We have a bedroom you can use because William is still in our room. He needs to be nursed every three or four hours so it's more convenient to keep him close."

"So you'll be home on Thursday if you can but no later than Saturday?"

"That's the plan."

"In two days, I have to be in Carson City for a meeting. I'll have Candy fill in for me at your house that night. You can trust him, Adam. He'll protect her like she's his sister." Adam nodded because he had come to trust Candy as much as his brothers did.

The trip to the lumber mill went as expected. Adam had a backlog of work to do there though and ended up being gone for five days instead of three. He was confident that his family would see to it that Rosalie and William were protected. When he finally mounted up to ride home early Saturday afternoon, the foreman asked if he didn't want to stay until Sunday because he was tired and wouldn't arrive home until after dark, but Adam was determined that he would go home. He did arrive well after dark, opened the stable, and lit a lantern. The next thing he knew he was face down in the dirt of the stable floor looking at a pair of boots. His head was pounding as he struggled to make sense of what had happened. Then there were strong arms grasping his arms and dragging him toward a stall and a horse that he knew was Candy's. He was too groggy to process what was going to happen and a moment before he was shoved beneath the hooves of the agitated horse in the stall, he heard other voices and the strong arms dropped him to the stable floor again.

Tom Weller had slipped away from the other hands who had gone to town for a Saturday night, and he had ridden out to Adam's place when he heard Hoss say that they expected Adam home by that evening. Hoss said he was overdue but wouldn't miss Sunday with his family if he could help it. Tom had a plan and decided right there to implement it. Adam was going to have an unfortunate accident in his own stable stumbling into a horse stall because he was so tired. That was the plan and Tom had thought that no one would be able to suspect him of any wrongdoing. His plan was to make sure Adam's head was where the horse's hooves couldn't miss it. No one would ever see the injury from the shovel after the horse trampled Adam.

"Dadburnit, I knew you was up to something when I saw ya a sneaking out of the saloon. Now back over there and don't move too much or I'll likely break you in two. Candy, get his pistol, will ya, while I take a look at Adam?" Kneeling at Adam's side, Hoss helped him to sit up against the post of the stall where Tom had meant to drag him. "I'm betting you got yourself quite a humdinger of a headache right about now. You feeling sick or anything?"

"No, but I'm not sure what's going to happen when I try to stand up." Suddenly Adam was more alert. "Rosalie?"

"Joe went to the house right off when we got here. It's quiet so he found them safe and sound. We'll get you up to your house now cause I'm sure they're both worried about what happened out here."

Hoss helped Adam to his feet, and as expected, Adam was unsteady because of dizziness so Hoss stayed by his side and guided him to the house where Joe waited with Rosalie and Minnie. Candy already had Tom's hands tied and led him outside the stable telling Hoss he would take him to town and turn him over to Sheriff Roy Coffee. Adam heard that but couldn't remember it a short time later. He ended up spending two days in bed and then a week more working at his house before he tried riding in the carriage to town for Tom's trial. He couldn't testify to much because of the head injury so he explained how he had walked into the stable. That was about all he could remember. Hoss and Candy filled in the rest. The jury found Tom guilty of assault and battery, but because it was his first offense, he only got three years in prison for the assault on Adam. Adam and his family knew that it was attempted murder, but they couldn't prove it. However later they found that Tom was wanted in California for some minor offenses. That state wouldn't pay to extradite him for minor crimes, but when Tom was paroled after two years, Ben Cartwright offered to pay the costs of having him taken to California for trial. He got another year at hard labor there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Light has all sorts of colors in it. When the sunlight comes through the air, we see the blue color. Sometimes you see the red color when the sunlight bounces off the clouds."

Ben was amazed again at the patience Adam had in explaining things to his son. William asked questions the way Adam had asked when he was that age, but Ben had to admit that Adam's education made it easier for him to explain some of the answers. William had asked why the sky was blue. Ben remembered how he had answered that question for Adam decades earlier.

"It's just the color that it is like leaves are green and dirt is brown."

He smiled as he remembered Adam frowning and thinking for several minutes before answering. "Papa, but why are some leaves yellow and some dirt is red?" He had to admit that some of Adam's questions had stumped him. Adam had answered all of William's questions even though William was even more curious than Adam had been at that age, so the questions were more numerous and often fairly complicated. Ben wondered what would happen when William found out that his mother was going to have another baby. He smiled again as he thought about his reserved and serious son managing those questions from his four-year-old son. For the time being though, he listened as Adam explained that he had a prism at home stored away somewhere and that he would get it out on a sunny morning and show William all the colors of light. Then he told him that raindrops were a natural prism and that was how they got rainbows.

"There are books at our house with drawings of rainbows inside because Mama likes rainbows. It's one of her favorite things. She can show you when we get home."

Nearly every weekday morning for the past year, William rode over to the main house with Adam in the morning and sat and paged through picture books or played with Gunnie while Adam talked over business with his family. Once that was done, William sometimes stayed under Joelle's supervision, and some other times, Adam and Hoss took the boys over to play under Rosalie's supervision. The boys did need to be supervised. William was exceptionally curious and that sometimes got him or both of the boys in trouble, and Gunnie was older and quite a bit bigger and thought he could handle anything that came his way. Hoss joked that somehow part of Little Joe got into his son. Ben enjoyed the days that the boys played together at his house even if they were a bit noisy. He had learned, just as his sons had, that silence from his two grandsons was a danger signal and meant they were up to something. Hoss' twin daughters, Maureen and Darlene, played quietly and seldom made noise. They were quite a contrast to the two boys whose noise didn't seem to bother Hoss or Adam.

However for Adam the most troubling aspect of being a father was that William was either imagining that he saw things or seeing things and misinterpreting or not seeing them clearly. Several times, he had told his parents about a man sneaking around the house. He couldn't describe him other than in the most general terms, and Adam could never find any evidence of a man being anywhere when he went to look. William said the man was wearing snowshoes, but of course with the weather, that was preposterous. When Adam or Rosalie asked how he knew there was someone outside, William said he could hear him walking. That seemed preposterous too until an incident when Adam and Rosalie were quietly discussing her pregnancy while standing in his office. William was still at the dining room table waiting for the dessert Mrs. Miller had promised. Adam had walked Rosalie from the table because she got a queasy stomach. She had escaped morning sickness in her first two pregnancies but it appeared that this time, she was going to have problems. As Adam walked back to the dining table leaving Rosalie to rest on the reclining chair in his darkened office, William smiled.

"So Mama is gonna have a baby?"

"William, why would you say that? Did someone tell you that?" Adam had wanted to keep the news from William for as long as they could because he knew his son would be asking interminable questions once he found out.

"I heard you and Mama talking. I didn't do a bad thing, did I, Papa?"

"But we were whispering when we were talking."

"Uh-huh, it was hard to hear you."

Adam sat down heavily. He had been concerned that perhaps William had some visual impairment, and now it seemed as if he had remarkable hearing. "William, tell me again what you hear when you go to see if there's a man outside."

"I hear funny squeaking sounds. Then I go look. There's a man with snowshoes walking around. He's looking at the house. Then he leaves."

"You stay at the table and eat your dessert. I'm going to take a walk outside before it gets too dark to see." Adam went to tell Rosalie what he had discovered and what he was going to do. Rosalie looked worried and watched Adam strap on his gunbelt before going outside. A half hour later, he was back. He whispered to Rosalie that they would talk later when William was in bed. Then Adam locked the doors and latched the shutters on all the windows as they would do if there was a storm on the way. There was a danger but it wasn't a storm that had him worried. Rosalie was anxious to find out what was wrong and was in the kitchen as soon as she could get William settled in for the night. Adam and Minnie were having a cup of coffee and had been discussing what Adam had found.

"What did you find?"

"William has amazing hearing. Someone has been walking around our house. Whoever it is, they are wearing birch bark on their feet so that I never saw any tracks. Once William described what he saw and heard, I looked for something like that. It didn't take long to find it once I knew that I wasn't looking for boot tracks but something flat."

"What are we going to do?"

"For tonight, I'm going to stay up and keep watch. I want you and Minnie to take a pistol with you to the bedroom. The windows are locked and shuttered, but because we don't know what the threat is, we should be very cautious. Even if you can't shoot well, the noise of it might scare an intruder away. In the morning, I'll fire three shots to get help to come running. At any time tonight, be ready to do that if we have a intruder and I can't fire off the shots. I'd go get help now except I don't want to leave you here with no protection."

"What about protection for you? Adam, you need to keep yourself safe too."

"Sweetheart, I will. Now, I suggest that you and Minnie sleep in your day clothes tonight so you can be ready for anything."

Nothing happened that night except that Adam got no sleep and the ladies got very little. In the morning, Adam fired three shots and soon Ben was there with Hoss, Joe, and Candy who wondered what was wrong when he met them at the front door.

"If you come around back, I'll show you."

As they walked around the house, Adam explained what William had heard that had made him go search for the odd prints instead of the tracks of boots that he had always looked to find before he understood what he should have done. He hoped to show them the tracks and perhaps have Hoss help him find the direction the tracks had gone even through the long grass and pine needles. That's what would have happened except the tracks that Adam had found the evening before were gone.

"Son, are you sure you saw something like that? Perhaps it was your worry that made you think that you saw those kinds of tracks."

Adam sighed deeply and looked at Hoss who was still moving around looking intently at the ground. "Pa, somebody did their best to brush out any tracks that were here. Didn't you notice that any tracks Adam must have made are gone too?"

"So whoever it is could be watching us right now." Ben did his best not to stare at the grove of trees not too far from the house.

Adam had nodded at Hoss' evaluation of the situation and had an idea of how they should proceed. "Yes, so I suggest we spread out and keep our pistols ready. If we begin to get close to where he's at, he could act like a cornered rat."

That also was an accurate assessment. As they moved out in a line and gradually approached the grove of trees, a horseman dashed away headed toward town. There was no possible way to catch him because their horses were tied in front of the house though it didn't stop Joe and Candy from trying. They rode back a short time later explaining that when the rider got to the road, they couldn't track him either. For the rest of the day, Joe stayed with Adam and his family at the house. Ben asked Candy to find out if any of the men were interested in extra pay for keeping watch at Adam's house at night.

"Joe, you can tell them that they can sleep in the tack room. One can watch as the other sleeps. I'll keep a couple of lanterns burning outside so that they can see anyone moving around."

Men began taking night duty at Adam's home, but no one approached the house again. After several weeks, Adam told his father that they would keep two men sleeping in the tack room, but that there would be no sentry duty. He did keep the lanterns lit and kept the windows shuttered, but even that seemed unnecessary as months passed and nothing happened. Then as they prepared for Gunnie's fifth birthday party, Adam took William into town with him leaving Rosalie and Minnie at home to bake for the party. Rosalie walked to the small chicken coop near the back of the stable and was confronted by a lean, bearded man. Startled, she didn't recognize him until he spoke.

"Now, sweet Rosie, you haven't forgotten your first love, have you?"

Rosalie wanted to scream but all she actually did was drop the pail she was going to use to get some eggs for the baking that she and Minnie were doing. She backed away from him in the direction of the house.

"Has that beast made you afraid of me, Rosie? I would never hurt you. I love you, and I've come back for you."

"It's not love. I don't know what it is, but it's not love. I love Adam and he loves me."

"He doesn't love you. He's using you to get the heirs that his father wants. You're nothing to him. You are everything to me. I'll even take care of his brat once he's out of the way. It'll be the three of us then. We'll be very happy, I'm sure."

"No, Adam and I are going to have another baby. He's the one I want. I'm sorry if you are disappointed by that, but that's the truth."

"Rosie, my love, I have to admit that several years ago that would have made me furious, but now I'm happy. We'll have two children right away, and both of them will be heirs to a lot of money. It's nearly perfect, don't you think?"

"Is that what this is about? You want money?"

"We all want money, Rosie, love. Isn't that why you married a man so much older than you? You wanted his money. You knew he would die long before you and you would have his money because you had his children. It's kind of funny really that he's using you, but you're using him too."

"No, I love him and he loves me."

"Poor deluded Rosie. I know better. For the last three years, I've only thought of you and how you must be suffering the attentions of that hairy beast. I only regret that I didn't hit him with that shovel when he was still holding the lantern. I didn't think of that until later. He would have fallen and the lantern would have started the stable on fire. All my troubles would have been gone, and we could have been together this whole time."

"No, I would never have been with you. If you had killed Adam, I wouldn't have rested until you got the gallows for it. Now you should leave because Adam will be home soon."

"Now Rosie, I saw him heading for town. He won't be back for hours. We can spend some quality time together."

Tom Weller moved closer to Rosie who assessed her chances of making a run for it and concluding that she would never reach the house before he caught her. As Tom talked, she looked around for something to use as a weapon to defend herself. Suddenly both of them were startled by three shots fired at the house. Tom instinctively ducked and then stood and furiously demanded what had happened.

"Minnie must have finally realized that I was late getting back and saw you here. It's the Cartwright signal for help. Riders will be here in a few minutes. You're going back to jail even if it is only for trespassing so far."

"Not if they don't catch me here."

Tom turned and ran behind the stable and soon Rosalie heard the pounding of a horse's hoofs as he beat a hasty retreat to town. Soon after that, Hoss rode up with several hands and then a moment later, Joe and Candy rode up as well. Finding Rosalie standing alone, they had to ask what had happened. Hoss dismounted and wrapped an arm around her when he saw she was shaking.

"C'mon, now, Sis, what happened here?"

Rosalie did her best to keep her composure as she explained, but when Ben arrived, she lost it and began crying. Hoss quickly informed his father of what Rosalie had told them. Ben told Joe and Candy that they could take the hands and go home while he and Hoss took care of Rosalie. Joe wanted to stay to help but Ben told him he could help by riding to town to let Adam know what had happened. As expected, Adam arrived home as quickly as he could. He was furious when he found out who their stalker was.

"I'll kill him."

"Adam, no. He wants a confrontation with you. He wants you out of the way and if you attack him, he might get his wish. No, I think we may have a solution though. He wants money so badly that maybe we can pay him to leave. I get the feeling that he would do anything for money."

"I'll go talk with Roy about him tomorrow, and maybe I'll see if I can find Tom and talk to him, but I won't pay him money to leave us alone."

"Why not if it will take care of it and get him to leave? Please think about it and don't let your pride stop you from considering all solutions. Please?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

In town, Tom Weller was figuratively kicking himself. He knew at that point that he should have asked the Cartwrights for money. He suspected that Rosalie would have given him quite a bit of money to go away and Ben would probably have been willing to do that too, but now that wouldn't happen because of the things he had said to her and how angry that likely had made her husband. Tom downed several swigs of cheap whiskey as he waited expecting a visit from the sheriff because of the trespassing because that was a violation of his parole that had said he was not to have any contact in the future with any of the Cartwrights. He worried that he would go back to prison, and he couldn't accept that. He knew that prison for a third time was more than he could take and he drank more. After a sleepless night, an exhausted man watched out the window of his cheap hotel and saw Adam Cartwright ride into town. It was the morning after Tom had visited with Rosalie and made his threats that he now saw as so very stupid. Those threats had been empty. He knew it but had wanted to upset and hurt Rosalie because he had been hurt and upset that she had married instead of waiting for him. He was feeling powerless and hated feeling that way. To him, his life was a cesspool and he hated the whole stinking thing. Then he came up with a solution in which he would no longer suffer but his enemies would. All that it required was a visit from Adam Cartwright whom he expected soon anyway. He sat back on his bed and waited.

Meanwhile Adam was taking some of his frustration out on Sheriff Roy Coffee who had seen similar behavior from Adam in the past. Adam felt guilty because he had not known it was Tom Weller who had been sneaking around his place. After several years, he had not been as concerned as he should have been knowing that Tom's grudge against him and his obsession with Rosalie would likely only be strengthened by sitting in prison and working at hard labor with nothing else to do but think.

"Why weren't we informed when Tom got out of prison? Surely they knew he could be a threat to us?"

"Now, see here, Adam. Tom was in prison in California. Your father saw to that. They ain't likely to be telling us anything. You knew as well as any of us that Tom got a year there for what he done. You coulda kept track of the time yourself."

Standing before Roy's desk, Adam fumed a bit more until he sat in a chair in frustration. Roy handed him a cup of his usual awful jailhouse coffee. Adam sipped, grimaced, and then looked up apologetically to Roy.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to vent at the world for my wife being so frightened and you got in the way. I never should have ranted at you like that."

"It's all right, boy, cause I know how much you love your family and want to protect them. Now, what he done was a violation of a court order here. I can lock him up for it and then ask the state what they want to do about it. He won't likely be locked up for long, though. He didn't hurt no one and didn't damage anything. Not too much we can do about him for words that wasn't even threatening by what you told me."

The two men were quiet for a time until Adam spoke. "Rosalie thinks we can pay him off to leave us alone."

"Could be. I remember the last time when he was in my jail and complaining about how he was only in there cause he wasn't rich. He does seem to think money will solve his problems."

"I don't want to have to pay him money for the rest of my life so that he will leave my family alone."

"More likely the rest of his life which I expect won't be that long. Man like that is gonna get in more trouble and more trouble until he's in so deep, he can't get out. I don't see him living a long life on your money. More likely just a year or two 'til he's locked up for something else."

"That's probably true. I'd like to try to talk with him to see then if that might be a possible solution. I know Rosalie would be happy if we never saw him again. I guess if it takes money to make that happen, then it would be worth it." Adam's expression left no doubt as to how distasteful that solution was to him however.

"Let me go send a wire off to Carson City about him. I expect they may need some time to decide what to do with him once I got him in the jail. Clem's not working today so I'll have to sit with him and listen to his complaining about how life is so danged unfair. Sometimes I wish I could charge some people with whining. Give them a hefty fine so they'd shut up. I'll meet up with ya at that cheap little hotel where he stayed last time. I figure that's where he'll be again. He seems to follow patterns in his behavior so I expect he'll be there."

As Roy walked off to send a telegram, Adam strolled to the hotel working very hard to keep the tension out of his walk purposefully greeting everyone he knew with a pleasant line or two. His path was a direct line to the hotel and of course he go there well in advance of Roy. He decided to wait outside rather than going in by himself. He didn't trust himself not to harm Tom Weller if he got close enough to him. An hour later, Adam sat in Roy's jail charged with murdering Tom Weller and trying to explain how that happened to his lawyer even as they waited for Adam's family to arrive.

"I was waiting across the street from the hotel where we thought Tom would be staying. He must have seen me waiting there and yelled out the window at me."

"What did he say that made you go to the hotel instead of waiting as Roy had asked?"

"He yelled out a question. He asked how an old man like me could satisfy a 'juicy morsel' like 'Rosie' and said he had done better with her than I ever would. I know I shouldn't have lost my temper and gone to see him, but no man out here can let another man talk about his wife that way and not react."

Hiram Wood only nodded agreeing with what Adam had said and wondering how he could use it to sway a jury if the case ever progressed that far. "What happened in the hotel? I need to know step-by-step what you did and anything you said or he said."

"I asked the desk clerk what room Tom Weller was in. He said 1 so I headed up the stairs and knocked on the door of room 1. It was ajar and opened when I knocked on it. All right, to be more accurate, I pounded on it. When the door swung open, he had a gun pointed at my chest and told me to toss my pistol over to him. He stood up then and motioned me to come closer and stand at the foot of the bed. He put his pistol in his holster and held my own pistol on me."

"Did you have any idea why he had done that?"

"None, other than convenience. I assumed that he thought there was some meaning in shooting me with my own pistol. I thought that was what he was going to do and I was kicking myself for not being ready for him to pull a gun on me. I never expected him to do what he did. I told him he didn't have to shoot me and get the noose for it. I told him that Rosalie had suggested that we pay him to go away. He laughed then and said it was too late. He smelled like whiskey so I assumed he was drunk or nearly so as badly as the place reeked."

"What happened next? Please be as specific as you can."

"There's not much to be specific about because it all happened very suddenly. He said something about getting his revenge and his freedom at the same time before he took my pistol and aimed it at his chest and fired the trigger. I think I said no but I'm not sure if I actually said it or thought it. He flew back into the wall next to the bed and my pistol dropped out of his hand and onto the bed as he fell. It was clear he was dead. I stood and did nothing for a moment. I was so shocked by what had happened. The next thing was the clerk standing in the door shouting that I had murdered Tom Weller. Roy was there a moment later and saw what looked like a murder scene, I suppose."

"What did he say?"

"Nothing that's going to help my case. He said that he knew something terrible had happened when he heard that gunshot inside the hotel. He said he was sorry he had let me go on ahead by myself considering how angry I was, and that he was sorry too that he hadn't gotten there sooner to prevent it. Then he put me under arrest for murder even though I tried to explain it to him just as I have explained it to you. He told me to wait until we were over here and I could give a statement. When we got here, I told him the whole story, but he said that with the clerk yelling it was murder and drawing a crowd, he had to lock me up until it could get all sorted out."

"Adam, my guess is that Roy is going to have an inquest. Hopefully, it will be 'sorted out' there. I'm going to insist that he let you go home with your family until he can convene an inquest. Hopefully, he will agree and we can have you out of here and home by tonight. If not, you may have to sit here until there's and inquest or a hearing."

Roy wasn't as agreeable as Hiram had hoped. "Now, you listen here. I got people out there saying as how Adam murdered that man. Now I know he never woulda done anything like that, but I got to go by the law. I got a dead man shot with Adam's pistol and he was the only one in the room who coulda fired that pistol."

"No, Roy, there was another man there who could have fired and you know that. Tom Weller was a liar, a thief, a bully, and perhaps a murderer if some of those rumors from California are true. He had obviously been drinking. There is doubt right there of Adam being guilty of anything."

"But that needs to come out in front of a judge or people won't accept it, and we got to support the rule of law here. You got to admit if that had been anyone else, he'd be sitting in my jail right now."

"No, I'm afraid that is not true. Is it possible that you are going out of your way to prove that there is no collusion with the Cartwrights on this? Would Adam be sitting in that jail cell if he wasn't a friend of yours, a supporter? Roy, you're going too far to show there is no favoritism. Adam's story is plausible and fits the facts as we know them. There is no reason to doubt him, but keeping him in jail is going to make more and more people in this town think that he is guilty of something."

"Well, I don't want that. I was thinking that ifn he was here, it would show that he was cooperating, and then at the inquest, we could get the whole story out and he'd be cleared. Everyone would know he was innocent."

"Roy, perception is as important as any facts of a case. Adam sitting in jail gives the impression that he committed a crime. Some will never believe he's innocent because of it, and the longer he sits in there, the more people will think he is a guilty man."

"I can't back off now though. I already told the judge we'd have the inquest in the morning first thing. He stayed over an extra night just because of it. He's got the information and I told him I had Adam over here at the jail." After a pause, Roy leaned back in his chair. "Hiram, I been thinking that it's time I handed over more duties to Clem. This only goes to show that I need to do that. I was thinking of following the letter of the law, and I plumb forgot my duty to protect and defend the citizens under my authority. I made a big mistake here and don't rightly see how I can fix it."

"Roy, release Adam and let him stay at the hotel tonight. No one needs to know he was locked in that cell. We can all walk out together and have dinner. You can tell everyone that Adam has given you his statement with me there to make sure everything was done according to the law. Tell them that Adam will be at the inquest in the morning."

"Some folks have already probably been saying that I locked up Adam Cartwright." Roy paused and smiled sheepishly. "But I'm guessing they're gonna look a mite foolish when they see us walking over to the hotel for dinner. Sure is gonna help me too when Ben gets here."

"Roy, have you met Rosalie? If I were you, I'd be more worried about her."

Understandably chagrined by his unusually poor handling of the situation and ready to accept some pointed comments from Adam, Roy nodded and went to the back with the keys in his hand.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Roy, what is the meaning of this?"

"Ben, keep your voice down so you don't make things worse just when they're getting better."

Hiram put his hand on Ben's arm to try to calm him. Ben had stormed into the restaurant after going to the jail only to be told that Adam had gone to the hotel for dinner with Hiram and Roy. He had no idea what to make of things, but most people in the restaurant were distracted completely by Rosalie rushing into Adam's arms and kissing him. It wasn't something that was seen much in town and certainly not involving the serious oldest son of Ben Cartwright. After the momentary shock and outright stares, customers in the restaurant used their peripheral vision to keep an eye on the couple wondering if there was going to any more public displays of affection.

Ben nearly hissed his response to Hiram while giving Roy a hard stare. "So things are getting better, are they? I was told that my son was in jail for killing Tom Weller. Now I find him here in the restaurant with the sheriff and our lawyer. What in tarnation is going on?"

Speaking very quietly but loudly enough to be heard by the closest restaurant patrons, Hiram gave his carefully prepared response. "Adam was in the Sheriff's Office making a statement. Now no one is more aware than you concerning all the trouble Tom Weller made for Rosalie and Adam. It took quite a while for the whole story to be written out. I was there to make sure all the legal points were properly addressed. If someone told you he was in jail, they were jumping to a ridiculous conclusion."

Noting the intense looks he was getting from his son as well as from Roy and Hiram, Ben did his best to play along with a script he didn't know. "Well, I'm glad that's all cleared up. It seems that whenever a Cartwright is anywhere near a bad situation, the gossips can't wait to spread their malicious rumors." Ben saw a small smile tugging at Adam's lip even as he clasped Rosalie's hands in his showing the tension that was in him yet. Ben suspected that he wouldn't hear the rest of the story until they were able to be somewhere private.

"Pa, we expected you so we ordered dinner. Where's Joe?"

"He wanted to come, but I asked if he could help Joelle with the children. William especially minds Joe better than he does Joelle. She gets nervous too when all of us are gone from the ranch, and Hoss insisted that he needed to be here." Adam looked to Hoss then and the two shared a small smile because they shared a bond that went back to when Hoss was a baby. In times of trouble, they were always together. "Now, what happened here?"

As Adam gave a condensed version of what had happened in the same sotto voce that Hiram had used to talk with Ben, Roy glanced at Rosalie and had to look down at the fierce condemnation he saw in her eyes. Nothing that had been said had fooled her. The way Adam had greeted her and the way he held her hand as he talked was all the evidence she needed. Roy listened to Adam but spent more of his energy trying to think of a way to apologize to Rosalie and Adam. Meanwhile, the dramatic effect of presenting his story as suggested by Hiram appealed to Adam's theatrical side but also made a great impact on his audience of customers who no doubt would be telling the tale as soon as they left the restaurant. Once dinner was finished, Hiram suggested that they take rooms and meet in one of them to discuss what would happen the next day. Roy asked to see Rosalie.

"Hiram asked me if I had met you. He was trying to be funny because he knows how fiercely you love Adam and how angry you would be with me for locking him up. I know that my first impulse in this case was all wrong. Somehow I thought that holding Adam would show cooperation but Hiram pointed out that it would make a lot of people think that he was guilty of something regardless of how the inquest turned out. I've apologized to him, but now I need to apologize to you for what I put him through and what I put you through. Please, can you forgive me?"

Rosalie paused a moment before answering. "You've always been a good friend to Adam. He thinks of you very fondly. Anyone can make a mistake. Adam has forgiven me for those I've made, and he's forgiven you. I accept your apology, but Roy, just remember that I do have a temper and I'm not afraid to shoot." She smiled then but Roy didn't know if it was genuine or if she was covering what she actually thought. More and more, he realized that she was quite a bit like her husband. He nodded and walked out of the hotel and back to his office.

After bidding Roy a pleasant goodnight, Rosalie joined the men in Ben's hotel room for a quick strategy session. Then she and Adam returned to their room. Once that door was closed, Adam pulled her into a tight embrace. She said nothing knowing that her presence and her affection were what he needed.

"I shouldn't have let him rile me up so easily. If he had yelled out more, there would have been more people paying attention and I would have witnesses to back up my story."

"No one could ever have expected the man to kill himself. I mean, that was crazy, wasn't it? He seemed to think he could get revenge on you by shooting himself in the heart. Didn't he know that he wouldn't be around to enjoy his vengeance?"

"He might not be, but after tomorrow, I hope I'm still around to be a husband and father especially with another one on the way." Adam ran his hand over the baby bump on his wife. He had never expected to be so thrilled to have children. He hoped that this second one would be a girl. He saw Hoss with his daughters and wanted that experience too but he would be happy too to have another son.

"Hiram seems to have this well planned. If it goes like he thinks it will, by this time tomorrow, we'll be home and finally free of Tom Weller."

When Adam and Rosalie slipped into bed, they made love but it was as much a need to reaffirm love and support as it was to enjoy each other. Exhausted, they fell into sleep wrapped together. In the morning, both were groggy but hopeful that the day would go well. They met Ben and Hoss for breakfast but no one could eat much. Then they talked about everything except the inquest until nine when it began. Clarence and Rosalie's brothers met them at the courthouse to show support. In the inquest, the desk clerk was the first to tell his story. Then Hiram asked some questions.

"Did you see Adam shoot Tom Weller?"

"No."

"Did you hear Adam threaten Tom Weller?"

"No."

"Did you hear Tom Weller talking?"

"Yes."

"Could you understand what he was saying?"

"Only a little. I heard him laugh and say it was too late."

"That was followed by the gunshot?"

"Yes."

"Where were you when you heard the gunshot?"

"I was at the top of the stairs cause I was worried about what would happen."

"When you entered the room, did you see a lot of blood spattered about?"

"Yes, it was all over the wall and Mr. Weller's shirtfront was drenched in blood."

"So, it sprayed around quite a lot?"

"Yes, it was even sprayed on the spread on the bed. We had to burn that."

"Was there any blood on Mr. Cartwright?"

"Ah, he wasn't there. It was Adam who was there." There were chuckles in the packed courtroom in response to that. It was the first sound that had been made during the early testimony.

"Yes, then, was there any blood on Adam?"

"None that I could see, but he wears those black shirts."

"Yes, he does, but if he was standing next to Tom Weller when he was shot, wouldn't he have had blood spray onto his hand and perhaps even his face if there was blood sprayed everywhere even on the spread?"

"Yeah, I guess so. He wasn't next to him though. He was on the other side of the bed standing at the footboard."

"Did you see a gun?"

"Yes, it was on the bed."

"In which direction was it pointing?"

"Ah, I guess it was pointing at Adam."

"So, somehow, Adam pointed a gun at Mr. Weller, who according to the report the sheriff and the doctor filed was that he was shot at close range, managed not to get blood sprayed on him even as the area was sprayed with blood, jumped back across the bed, dropping his pistol so that it aimed at him all in the time you took to reach the door and look in?" The clerk had no answer to that but there was murmuring in the courtroom as the audience understood all the points that Hiram had made. Next up was Roy who explained what Adam had told him about what happened.

"Did Adam seem upset that Tom Weller was dead?"

"Yes, he did. He said more than once that he thought Tom wanted to shoot him with his own pistol. He seemed surprised that Tom shot himself."

"Yes, that pistol. Now the clerk said that there was blood sprayed about quite a bit. Was there blood on the pistol?"

"Yes, there was. I had to pick it up with my handkerchief. I got it right there on the table ifn you wanted to see it or show anyone."

"Was there any blood on Adam?"

"Nope."

"His hands were clean?"

"Clean as they could be?"

The judge said he was ready to make a ruling but Hiram said he wanted the whole record completed so that no one would ever have any doubts about the case. The judge agreed but asked that any other witnesses tell their stories without so many questions to speed things up because he was supposed to be in Carson City by that night. Doctor Martin testified that the bullet had traveled up from the point of entry supporting the idea that Tom had shot himself because otherwise he would have had to stand there while Adam knelt down to shoot up at him. He said that there were grains of gunpowder around the wound and on Tom's shirt indicating that he had been shot at extremely close range. Finally Adam took the stand and told the story he had told Roy and then Hiram before telling his family. Tom Weller had a twisted desire for revenge and had been drinking which most likely affected his thinking. By the time Adam finished his story, the whole courtroom was nodding in agreement with what he said. It all made sense to them. The judge ruled the death a suicide and the case was closed.

Sitting in a seat with his family at his side, Adam blew out his breath but said nothing. His father put a hand on his shoulder and Hoss put a hand on the other shoulder. Rosalie was seated beside him holding his right hand between her hands and was also quiet. Many people came up to tell Adam that they had never thought he would ever have done anything like what the rumors had said he did. Adam smiled and thanked each of them for their support and their understanding even though he knew some of them were lying. Once the courtroom cleared, Adam and his family thanked Hiram who smiled and said he would be sending his bill. That brought smiles finally.

"Son, let's go home. You and Rosalie need to be back on the ranch." Ben turned to Clarence and the rest of Rosalie's family then. "Why don't all of you come back with us? We'll have Hop Sing cook up one of his great dinners and we can all relax together."

However, relaxing was delayed a bit when they got back to the ranch. First Hop Sing had to be placated about being asked to fix a big dinner for guests when he had been given very little warning. Then the whole inquest had to be recounted in detail for a very curious Joe who chortled on hearing how Hiram had turned the desk clerk's testimony around to help Adam's case. Adam and Rosalie had stopped to pick up Minnie on their way to the ranch and she was as interested in what had happened as Joe was. She had been feeling ill and had been in bed for a few days but a chance to visit with Clarence and Ben seemed to make her perk up even more than the good news that Adam and Rosalie brought. Unknown to Ben or Clarence, their sons had been discussing for some time whether Ben or Clarence was the one that Minnie would choose. There were many smiles when Clarence offered to drive Minnie back to Adam's house and Ben looked clearly disappointed in that. Adam followed in his carriage with Rosalie and William, as Rosalie's brothers rode behind them until they turned off toward the Morton ranch. The turbulence caused by Tom Weller was finally over.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Papa, how did that baby get in there?"

Relieved to be done with anything having to do with Tom Weller, Adam took his son for a ride the next morning. As Rosalie's stomach swelled, William had more and more questions and didn't seem satisfied with the answers he had gotten. "When a man and woman love each other and are sweet with each other, God puts a baby inside the woman so they can share their love with a baby."

Sitting in front of Adam on Sport, William thought for a time. "I saw Grandpa and Minnie being sweet with each other. Grandpa kissed her. Is God going to give them a baby?"

Almost choking with that one, Adam had to clarify. "No, the man and woman have to be married."

"Oh. If Grandpa marries Minnie, will God give them a baby then?"

"No, I think they're too old to have a baby."

"How old is too old?"

"Ah, well, a grandfather does not have babies."

"What makes somebody a grandpa?"

"When a man's children grow up and have their own children, then he's a grandpa."

"Who are grandpa's children?"

"I'm the oldest, and then there's your Uncle Hoss and your Uncle Joe. Grandpa is our father."

William thought about that for just a moment. "Why doesn't Uncle Joe have children? He's all grown up."

"He's not married."

"Oh, yeah." Nothing slowed the questioning down much though. "Did Grandpa ever give you a tanning?"

"Yes, he did."

"At the end, did he say he still loved you?"

"No, he didn't. Not then. It made me worry about that and that's why I always tell you that I still love you no matter what you do. I don't always like the things you do, but you, I will always love no matter what."

There were more questions but those were about nature and the things that they could observe on their ride. When they reached the yard of the main house, Adam let William slide down to the ground where he turned and raced to the house for the morning ritual of being greeted by his grandfather with a hug. As expected, the front door opened and Ben was there to greet William. Gunnie was right behind Ben waiting anxiously for William.

"There's some kittens in the stable. Papa found them this morning and moved 'em into the tack room. We can go see 'em now."

The two boys were about to race to the stable but Adam halted that. "Who's going with you? You know you can't go to the stable alone."

Joelle stepped forward. "I'll go with them and take the girls. I'd like to see these kittens too and so would the girls."

Once Joelle led the girls and followed the boys who were anxiously waiting for the entourage to move faster, Adam sat at the dining table and poured a cup of coffee for himself.

"Son, you look tired."

"Pa, I thought facing Tom Weller and then facing the inquest would be the most difficult things I did this week, but fielding the questions from William is exhausting." Adam saw the small grin his father sported. "I know. It's poetic justice, but it seems I'm getting a much bigger measure than I handed out to you."

"Perhaps you do it too well. I struggled with coming up with answers for you so that probably made you less enthused about asking. I've heard some of your answers to William. Almost makes me want to ask some questions to hear what you have to say."

"Pa, now you know ole Adam don't need no extra reasons to be talking. We best just let things lie as they are for now." Hoss turned to Adam then with a question about expanding the house.

"You and Joelle having another baby?"

"Nah, it's not that. It's that the three of them are getting older and we could use more room. Joelle would like a place to keep her sewing stuff too away from the girls and someplace where she wouldn't have to put everything away all the time. She'd like a place where she could leave a piece out until it was finished."

"Our wives must have been talking. Rosalie asked for the same thing. I'm going to add onto the washroom to have a separate room for sewing and crafting things. It will be a multipurpose room with one wall of cabinets to give us more storage. Do you think that would work here?"

Ben waited for his sons to look to him for his opinion. When it didn't come, he reminded them that it was his house and he should be consulted at least. That got him a couple of sheepish smiles.

"Sorry, Pa. What were you thinking?"

"The plans for this house sound fine. I was wondering though, with the baby on the way, if you were going to add a bedroom to your home for Minnie."

"Oh, I was wondering about that myself. William said that he saw the two of you being sweet to each other. He said he saw his grandfather kiss Minnie. He wondered if the two of you were going to have a baby."

Ben spit his coffee out onto his plate that was much less painful than the coffee that went up Joe's nose with that comment. Hoss laughed at the comment and at the reactions of their father and brother.

"I reminded him that a man and a woman had to be married to have a baby though. He asked then if you married her, would you have a baby."

"And what was your answer to that?"

"Oh, I said that grandfathers didn't usually have babies." Adam didn't dare use the word 'old' because his father was getting touchy about that being said. Ben accepted his answer though and they discussed ranch business next before Adam headed back home taking William and the promise of a weaned kitten in the future.

Several months later, Adam walked up the stairs of his home with William holding his hand as they went to greet the newest member of their family. In the master bedroom, William noted that his mother's stomach was much smaller and she was holding a small bundle.

"Come here, William, and greet your sister, Anne. Isn't she pretty?"

William's facial expression conveyed his thoughts on that question. To him, the baby was mottled and wrinkled. He couldn't understand why his mother thought she was beautiful. After a few more moments of family time, Ben and the others joined them in the room to admire the newest addition to the family. Adam took William by the hand to have him go downstairs for breakfast. As he walked away with his son, the rest of the family chuckled to hear William's question.

"Papa, how did that baby get out of there?"

Adam groaned and put a hand to his head. He was exhausted and now to face the toughest question William had ever asked him seemed to be too much. He sighed deeply and prepared to give a very simplified version of what happened except William spoke before he could.

"It's all right, Papa, if you don't know the answer. I still love you."


End file.
